Can you keep a secret?
by SlippingSanity
Summary: Roxas proved he could, keeping Sora's kidnapping a secret, eventually taking his place. Axel is trying to convince Roxas to reveal Sora's location but it is not as easy as it sounds. Roxas may not even know where the kid is... AxelRoxas RikuSora and more
1. Prologue: Sora's Kidnapping

SlippingSanity : Okay... Let me say this now because I am sure that I am worrying/pissing off people with all the new stories I'm putting up here. I will not stop the other stories unless I lose complete inspiration so... Um... Please don't be mad at me for the new story!

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and to those who contributed to its creation...

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Prologue

He followed her out of the crowded mall. Laughing, they both were, as he reached out to grab hold of her skirt but was unable to. She walked side to side, appearing as a dancer on the ice as she evaded the other shoppers and his chubby little grasp. Her blonde hair, long and waves, floated in an invisible air and bounced with each movement she made.

"Hurry up, Sora!" Her laughter was beautiful and light, her hazel eyes sparkling. "You don't want to make your mother wait, do you?"

Sora, a small five year old boy with bouncing brown hair styled into spikes that stuck out in every direction, shook his head. "No!" He truly meant it even though he laughed. "We gotta hurry!" He squealed, finally catching the woman's skirt. "C'mon…uh… What's your name again?" His brown bangs fell into his sight as he tilted his head.

The blonde woman shook her head as she peeled her skirt from Sora's hand and took his hand into her own. "I told you, Sora. I'm a friend of your mother." She explained, the smile not once left her face. "So, I'm a friend."

"A friend?" His bright blue eyes seemed to glow when she said this, his already bright smile becoming almost bright enough to keep the mall well lit. "My friend too?" He bounced up and down when she nodded at him. He loved making new friends! "You'll take me to see mommy and then we'll have a friendship party!" He cheered. "We'll have cake and ice cream and lots o' candy! Okay?"

Laughing, she nodded her head. "That sounds nice, Sora. We'll have to do that when we get back." Raising a finger to her chin as she looked at the exiting glass doors, she frowned in thought. "Sora?" She smiled again, "Can we invite my son? I'm sure he'd love to come."

Sora inhaled excitedly, his eyes widening. "You have a boy? Is he my age? Can I meet him? Can we be friends too? Ca—"

She laughed at his joy, her laughter just as beautiful as her voice. Sora blushed. "Of course, silly. And yes, he's about your age and height."

"What's he look like?"

"Hm… Let's see… He's just as tall as you, has blonde hair just like me, oh, and he has blue eyes."

"Blue? Like yours?" He pointed to her face, but she shook her head slowly in reply.

"No. His eyes are a bright blue, just like yours." She bent down and caressed his tanned face with a soft warm hand. "Yes," she whispered, "just like yours…"

"Really?" Sora did not understand, but he wanted to see so badly the other boy. Not a lot of people had eyes like his. Sure, he had seen other blue eyes but none as bright as his. "I only saw my dad with the same eyes like mine." Sora leaned into the touch and was disappointed when it slipped away. "Um…" She was walking again, this time without the smile she had worn when she approached him in the toy isle and told him his mother had not been feeling well and left. She smiled and laughed, calming him down when he wanted to cry because his mother was sick and he should not have ran away when her back was turned but he 'wanted to look at the toys now' and not later like she had said.

"_Don't worry. I'll take you." She smiled and ruffled his hair._

When he hugged her, Sora noticed that she smelt like floral perfume and clean clothes.

"Don't worry about it." Her smile was back and brought Sora's back. Walking outside the crowded mall felt good to the young boy. His hair and knitted scarf blew gently in the fresh cool breeze. He dug the hand that wasn't holding the woman's hand into his jacket pocket and felt the gloves his mother insisted he wear. It was going to rain, she had told him, and if he did not believe her then, then the few sprinkles that were slowly intensifying into rain made him. "Rain?" she looked up to the sky, her free hand outstretched, and palm up catching the falling water.

"Yeah!" Sora smiled. "Mommy told me it would, but—"

Her laughter silenced him. Her eyes were closed, her lips wide as she continued to lead him and laugh. The sweet sound he heard in the mall wasn't there anymore. In its wake was something he had not heard much of before, but in the instances he had heard the sound, he did not like it.

She sounded like one of the bad men in scary pictures. Of a monster in a movie he snuck and watched when his parents had taken a nap.

Sora shivered, the shaking increasing dramatically when she opened her eyes. The sparkle…it was gone. Her eyes were cold and dark and when they stopped in front of a white car with tinted windows, Sora contemplated running away.

"This setting is almost _too_ perfect." Her voice terrifying, rough and callous and full of negative emotions Sora felt with a flinch. His body told him to run from the sound, get far away from the woman and do not look back. He really wanted to, but he had to get back to his mother. She was sick. Even though she said not to leave with if neither she nor his father told him they were picking him up, he just had to leave with the blonde woman. He did not want to be alone in the mall, not again.

"Um, misses Mom's Friend?" Her eyes when she looked at him almost made wet his self. _'Scary'_. She was scaring him. "Is something wrong?" He asked even though he wanted to cry. He wanted his mommy. She was soft and nice; she did not look like the woman in front of him did.

The smile she gave him was wrong. He could feel it- her smile was evil. It was turned up on one side of her mouth and gleamed in the wrong light that made her teeth look long and pointed. "Everything wrong will be righted soon enough." Her whisper hurt his ears as though she were yelling.

Her hands, once smooth and soft, became talons that bit into his skin as she shoved him into her car and slammed the door after she crawled in after him.

Sora grunted when he hit something and almost screamed at what he saw when he opened his eyes. The lady- she had become a monster!

When she grabbed at him, he panicked and fought back. He should not have been doing those things, he thought as he kicked at her. Fighting an adult was wrong but he could not stop it. She scared him; the terrified whimpers from the back of his throat spoke. Her eyes were wild. Her hands and sharp nails stung. The way she stared and scratched at him as she yelled bad words about him caused tears down his cheeks.

She had said that everything was perfect, but he knew the truth. When she pulled him against her breasts and tied his hands, feet, and mouth, and when she covered his eyes with a blindfold, Sora knew that nothing was perfect.

Everything had somehow gone so very, very wrong.

In the mall, a woman with dark hair ran franticly throughout. Her dark eyes were wide, her skin pale and damp as she continued to shout out in a trembling voice her son's name.

"_Sora! __**Sora!**_"

In the parking lot, a white car with tinted windows drove off.


	2. Chapter One

SlippingSanity : Here's the next chapter! Oh, and I've decided to change the summary. I did not think that it was working with the way this story is going...

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and to those who contributed to its creation...

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Chapter One

There were a lot of things in the world the he did not understand though he tried his best to do so. Why did he and his mother have to move from Twilight Town to Destiny Island? Why did they trade in their comfortable home for an apartment so far out of the way that he had to get a ride of catch the bus to school? Why did some of the kids at his school tease him for being the new kid? Why did some of the more immature (or were they mature but stupid?) students tease him because someone found out his father was an absent figure in his life? He had spent many recesses sitting on a bench alone thinking his self to tears trying to figure it out. When some kids stopped and asked what was wrong he ignored them in favor of thinking, and when other kids laughed at him for crying he would think about it as he punched anyone in his warpath.

He would sit, scrapes on his knuckles and body drumming with pain as his teacher and principal spoke in loud voices to him, and wonder. When they would ask him _"Roxas, why did you fight those kids? Why didn't you come get an adult?"_ The addressed boy would reply without blinking "I don't know. _I. just. don't. know._"

His mother, his beautiful, wonderful mother sat down on the couch next to him and played with a lock of his hair that was the same blond as hers. In her most soothing voice said to him, "Sora."

Roxas' eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed. "Sora? That boy in the other room?" Roxas looked his mother in the eye and met her assuring stare with a questionable one. The sounds from the television faded into white noise as the young blond found himself once more with something he did not understand. Why was he like that? Why didn't he get it? "What does he have to do with anything, mommy?"

"Roxas, honey," she slowly ran her fingers through his hair and smiled at him. It was still beautiful to him even if her smile never reached her eyes the way he had witnessed did with other mothers, "that little boy has to do with everything. Your life," she poked his forehead and giggled when she made him smile. "my life," she pointed to herself and slowly the giggling ended and smile began to fall, "and your father's life." A sad expression made its way across her face and made her beautiful smile so sad it hurt her son to look at. The tips of her eyebrows were pointed to her hairline but they slid down at an angle. Her eyes were moist and vulnerable; her cherry red lips were parted and trembled.

Standing on the sofa, Roxas reached out and hugged his mother close and patted the back of her head. His little fingers lifted and flattened shimmering strands of gold, his dry white shirt now cold from the dampening wetness strained from his mother's eyes. Long ago but resolve grown anew, Roxas thought that hated to see his mother this way. He hated hearing the sobs she smothered into his little chest and the way she clung to him so desperately.

His father…his mother loved him so much but he had left her and him alone.

His mother may want him back, but Roxas wanted his father gone from their lives forever.

And what the little boy in the other room had to do with any of this? Did he know Roxas's father or something?

Whispering any of the comforting words into his mother's ear that he knew and ignoring his thoughts, Roxas closed his eyes slowly and rocked them back and forth. She wailed and pleaded to nothing for something. She wanted him back; Roxas knew his mother was saying through crying. She did not want to be abandoned.

"It's alright, mommy. I'm here, so don't cry." Roxas smiled fondly at the top of his mother's head. Tears leaked from his eyes and fell into her curly hair. "I won't leave you."

She let out a watery chuckle. "I know. You're a good boy." she whispered as she released his waist and gave him soft pats on the back. "You're such a good boy…" She deflated, pulling her son down to sit on the couch. Resting her head on his shoulder she smiled soft, but not sad. "Thank you so much, Roxas."

Xoxoxox

"Sora…Sora…" The mother shook in her chair and her feet bounced anxiously beneath the table. She sat at the kitchen table with tears pouring from her red eyes. The saltine moisture fell from her face and splashed down on a picture of her little baby boy. "Sora…Sora…" she repeated, "He's g-gone. M-My precious baby boy…gone." She could not believe it. Not Sora, not the little boy smiling up at her from the tear stained photo, not him… "He-He was there one mi-minute, and then…and then…"

She could hear her husband screaming curses into the telephone demanding that something be done because, dammit, that was his son out there! and recalled his arrival at the mall. He had been frantic, his eyes darting back and forth between his shaking and sobbing wife collapsed on the floor, security and officials, and at the monitors hoping against hope that he would spot their child. He had screamed in fear, his voice worried when he demanded to know how this could have happened. It was rage that sent him punching a security guard in the jaw when they explained that kids tend to run about and get lost. Misery made the punch strong enough to strike, weak enough to be dangerous.

Officials restrained him to a chair and forbade him to stand for a while, at least until he calmed down enough to listen. The said that they would do everything in their power to find Sora- bring him home safely.

A mother could only hope…

Whatever was said on the phone did not help calm her or his nerves but she felt a little hopeful when he began to speak gruffly yet civilly. Hopefully, something was being done- something had to be! Her son was missing! Her son…he was…

"Sora…" she repeated as the tears that had slowed sprung forth anew. He was gone. He was gone. "Sora!" She fell limp onto the table, catching the green tablecloth a vice grip as she screamed and sobbed.

Xoxoxox

'_Wh-Where am I?'_ Sora inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose. He was still tied up around his wrists and his ankles tightly, his wrists behind his back. They refused to loosen even when he pulled at them with as much strength as his confused and terrified body could muster. He couldn't scream for help or demand to know where he was- his mouth was still covered. The worst was that he could not see. His eyes still had the blindfold over them, preventing him from looking at anything but the light that shown through the dark cloth. He was cold and hungry and, though he could not physically see it he could feel it. The spaces around him felt colder than the draft and darker than the blindfold over his eyes.

He was alone. Again.

Sora whimpered as he pulled his knees to his chest. He was all alone again; just like he was the time he hid at his father's workplace.

"_C'mon Sora! You're it!"_

"_What? I-I don't wanna…"_

"_What? Fine, just don't cry! Geez…"_

"_I-I'm not crying!"_

"_Sure… Anyway, you go hide. I'm it, okay? You got till the count of ten. One…Two…Three…"_

_Sora ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, praying that he would not fall down and scrape his knee again. He had had enough owchies his mother had told him._

"_I'll hide in here!" Sora giggled in a whisper, tucking himself in a well hidden space between a paper covered desk and a large pile of boxes._

_He was not supposed to be in the room, he knew, but he figured that it would be the last place anyone would look for him. He did not know how right he was until the security door slammed shut and locked automatically. It had been minutes that seemed like hours before his father ran in, pulling the hysterically crying child in his arms and bouncing him up and down in an attempt to calm him._

'_I don't wanna be here. I don't wanna be here!'_ Sora chanted in his mind, his covered eyes clenched tightly and body rocking back and forth. _'Help me, mommy! Daddy! Please!_ He cried hysterically, begging desperately for just one person to be near. Even that crazy lady would have made him feel at ease. But no one came. They had left all alone.

Behind the gag, Sora opened his mouth and, muffled though it was, screamed as loud as he could for someone- anyone to help him.

Xoxoxox

Roxas jumped, his eyes flying open wide at the sudden noise. He and his mother had fallen asleep on the couch again with the television on mute, so when he gently lifted her warm arms from around his shoulders and rolled to the floor he was not surprised. The sound- the scream he had heard, however, was the biggest surprise.

'_What is that kid doing in there?'_ Roxas shook his head and looked back at his mother. She was still asleep, he observed with a smile. She must have been exhausted.

Making his way to the door along the hallway that was closest to the living room, Roxas glared. The stupid crybaby was going to wake up his mother with all his screaming. Roxas wanted to yell at him to shut up, but his mother had two padlocks on the door and had made Roxas promise not to try and go in. The boy on the other side of the door was bad, and if Roxas went inside without her permission then he was bad too.

Roxas promised to be good, which was why he only leaned against the door. He could not make out the words the boy behind the door cried, but he felt as though he recognized the source of his loud choking sobs. Sora was in the room all alone bound, gagged, and blindfolded. His mother told him that Sora was secured for their protection because Sora was a very, very, _very_ bad boy and could make them bad too.

Roxas begged her to do more. Get some chains or something- anything! because he understood that his mommy did not like bad children. He did not want her to hate him, and he really did not want her to punish him. It looked like it hurt. His mother did not tell him what she did, but when she took a bad man into the locked room she would come out with bad hair and red on her clothes. He did not know what was going on, only having known his mother to have punished bad men twice, be he knew that he did not want to be punished like the others. He was a good boy.

She ruffled his soft hair and laughed telling him it would be alright. As long as Roxas stayed a good boy, she would keep Sora from making him bad. Sora just had to stay behind the door.

'_But…'_ Roxas shuffled his feet on the carpet. Sora was crying. The two bad men his mother brought in didn't cry- the yelled at her and screamed bad words, but not once did they cry. And the way Sora was crying, _'It sounds just like me.'_ Roxas's expression became troubled. Did Sora get lonely like he did? Was he crying because he was all alone in the room? Did he feel abandoned and scared like Roxas did whenever he sat in a corner by himself at lunch? Was that the feeling?

Roxas did not like the thought. It hurt too much to know that he was no better than the stupid kids at school that spread rumors about him. He scowled and shook his head. He could never allow himself to be like them. They were mean to him for no reason ever since they first laid eyes on him. A year later and they still treated him the way they had from the start. It was disgusting, annoying, and far too old.

Checking to make sure his mother was still fast asleep on the couch, Roxas made his decision. He would not be like the other kids in his class. He would be better than them, even if he had to be nice to someone as bad as Sora.

"Hey!" Roxas hit his fist on the locked door once. Immediately the sobbing on the other side silenced. "I know you can't talk so shut up and listen." He was tense as he spoke, praying that his mother did not wake up and get mad at him. He did not want to be labeled as a bad boy in his mother's eyes. That would hurt worse than the loneliness he felt at school.

"I can't come in there with you- no one can." The boy in the room let out a loud whimper and Roxas sighed. It hurt to hear the sound. It was so similar to his. "But, Sora, I'm here outside the door. You probably can't see it, but you should be close. Mommy set you down below the wall with the vent, so you should be right across from the door. I'm over here…" Roxas finished softly as his gaze fell to the floor. He gave a startled yelp when he heard the sounds of shuffling and grunts followed by a dull thud of someone hitting the door. Did Sora really make his way to the door just because he was there?

Two knocks on the wood confirmed it. Roxas gave a small smile and slid along the door until he sat on the floor. "I'm right here, Sora, okay? I'm just behind the door."

Roxas sat silently as he heard Sora crying again. The sound was different this time- calmer and less desperate for attention. He closed his eyes, listening as the choking slowly began to subside, replacing the gasps with words Roxas could barely make out.

One word, or rather, a name had reached Roxas's ears and he had to wonder who the person was.

'_Who is Axel?'_

xoxoxox

No one would tell Axel what was going on. There were officers all over Sora's place and when he had snuck around to the back and peeked into the kitchen window he saw Sora's parents crying. The police that caught him and escorted him off the premises refused to tell Axel anything, replying that he should go home. His parents did not say much either, denying that they knew anything about Sora's family current situation even when they shook their heads sadly at the mention of Sora.

It was infuriating. Which was why he was spending the night over at his friend Demyx's place. Demyx lived closer to Sora than he did, so it would be easier for him to find out what exactly was going on. No one kept him in the dark.

"Axel, are you sure this is a good idea?" Demyx asked his red headed friend as he nervously rung his hands. "I mean, won't we get in trouble if we're caught? I really don't feel like being grounded again…"

Axel turned to face his blond friend, his bright green eyes piercing through the dark as he smirked. "You think we'll get caught? Please, Demyx, you should know better than that. I've snuck into Sora's place plenty of times." Axel boasted and puffed his chest out, a fist mock slamming into his chest. "It's easy!"

Demyx gave a puzzled frown. "Why do you sneak into Sora's place? I mean, isn't that a little odd?"

"Huh? How so?"

"Axel, you're an eleven year old kid sneaking into a five year olds room. Doesn't that seem just a _little_ off to you?"

When Axel gave no reply, he was not surprised. Demyx had not expected to hear much from Axel about his actions. The red head never seemed to give anyone a direct answer, even his parents had to ask a series of questions just to get a simple two-or-three word reply. It was one of the few things that made Demyx both want to be Axel's friend and want to punch Axel. The kid was an enigma, and as they made their way over to Sora's house, the blond decided that Axel was also terrifyingly good at planning. They ducked into bushes and dove around corners just as officers exited the house. They ran at top speed to the side wall of the house and leapt onto the nearest tree branch, then proceeded to climb up a well worn path until they reached Sora's bedroom window.

Demyx stopped behind Axel. The moon cast shadows on the surroundings though the trees and the thin curtains were closed, obscuring their view but they could still see the woman crying inside. Her brunette hair was a stringy mess, her eyes red as she sat near her son's bed and held one of Sora's many action toys to her chest. It flashed lights and whirled with movement when she gave a button a push but no joy crossed her features.

Axel pushed the window open quickly and parted the curtains forcefully, surprising both the sad woman and Demyx. "Mom, what's wrong?" Axel asked as him and Demyx were running to her side as soon as their shoes touched the floor.

"Why are you crying?" Demyx held one of the hands that dropped the plastic toy. "What happened?"

She looked at them curiously, her eyebrows knitted and her bottom lip sucked into her mouth. The two boys in front of her were somehow friends of her son and had taken to calling her and her husband their mother and father. It was so adorable and sweet, but the truth was that they were not her children. She would not risk telling them something that would hurt them, she couldn't! …or could she? They would inevitably notice what happened when one of their friends did not show up to play with them… She was contemplating whether or not to tell the two boys when Axel cleared his throat.

"I'll find out one way or another," Axel stated, Demyx nodding in agreement in the background, "So tell us, mom."

She choked on tears and shook her head from side to side. "I can't! I just can't!"

"Mom," Axel and Demyx stood in front of her, "we look like kids, but we are stronger than that. You know that, right?"

She nodded her head as tears that once dried began to fall anew and gathered the boys into a tight embrace. "I know, boys, I know." There was a moment of silence after Demyx insisted she tell them why she was crying, and another minute of tears after that before she found the strength in herself to repeat what the officials told her and her husband. "Axel? Demyx? I'm afraid that…you won't be able to see Sora for a while…"

To her surprise, Axel stiffened and pulled away from her. Glared angrily as he demanded to know why. "Why can't we see Sora? ! What's wrong? Wh—"

"Axel, shut up!" Demyx stomped on his friend's foot, removing his own only after Axel calmed down enough to pay attention.

"Sorry…" Axel apologized, walking back to her and being once again wrapped in her embrace. She nodded her acceptance and sobbed before continuing.

"Sora…he's been taken," She cried over their shocked gasps. "I-I thought he'd ran away to another store or to look at toys, but…" her voice was high pitched and raw with desperation, "but they looked back at the security tapes and…and…and someone had taken him! Sora, my baby, gone!" She cried and pulled them closer.

Axel held the woman he considered another mother close. Sora…was gone? No… Glaring at the wallpaper, Axel swore he would get Sora back.


	3. Chapter Two

SlippingSanity : So, about the previous chapter three (or two)... I am so, so very sorry about posting such an inferior work! I really am! I was rushing and did not take the time to look over my work! I promise to not do that again and hope that you all can forgive me! I reworded some things and changed a bunch of things so I am asking that you reread this super long chapter (once again, I appologize!).

I am so, so, so sorry!

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and to those who contributed to it's creation...

Warning(s) : There are some minor character design changes in the story! They are not permenent and will change back, believe me, and in future chapters I will clear up the reason for this! It is nothing big, but I just wanted to let you all know. Also, language (you'll see what I mean...).

**Thank you to those who took the time to read and review the previous chapter three (or two)! I hope that having to reread this does not put you off of this story! I promise that it will not happen again!**

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Chapter Two

She stood in the hallway though she could not feel her legs. Her eyes were half closed, the exhaustion taking hold of her alleviated by only the promise of the bed in her shared room at the end of the hall. Her nonstop house working had begun taking its toll, as well as her constant trips to store after store after store. She did not want to be here. She could not take it anymore, sitting inside while her baby was missing. She had to do something, anything to keep from thinking! If she thought too much, she would surely breakdown completely and crumble away.

They were still looking for her son. The police told her and her husband not to worry but it was too much. It's was so hard to keep faith when all seems lost. So very hard…

But she and her husband tired. Every night they hold each other and force themselves to smile and believe that it will be over tomorrow. They whispered to one another, clinging to the other with whispers of promises that they held no control over. "Sora will be back tomorrow and then we can all go out for ice cream and put this ugly ordeal behind us." He'll be back tomorrow.

But there should not have to be a tomorrow. Their baby should be there with them now!

She whimpered and held her chest as her legs threatened to give out. She only took Sora to the mall. They had gone there plenty of times before- how had it gone so wrong? He was always there where she left him, a huge smile on his chubby little face as he cheered on about his newly created sculpture with the blocks children were allowed to play with. She'd laugh and cheer with him, his greatest masterpiece just a mess of stacked plastic blocks but it was enough for her. Her husband, whenever he could get out of work and went with them, would congratulate his son and offer to by the little genius some ice cream or some fast food and she would pout because they were spoiling their dinner but allow it because they were all too happy and proud to be together.

Why didn't that happen instead? Why couldn't her baked meal have gone ignored that night, the three of them stuffed tight in their shirts from the massive amount of junk they ate and laughed at some cartoon on the television? Why did their baby have to go missing- kidnapped by some random stranger?

She collapsed on the floor, tears spilling forth and sobs echoing.

Why did she have to go to the mall that day? Why did she leave Sora unattended?

She grabbed hold of the carpet floor, screaming when her eyes fell on the room next to her. Their baby boy's empty bedroom...

"It's my fault," she wailed, "It's all my fault!" Her fists slammed on the ground, self directed anger venting itself on the floor. "I'm so sorry…" She apologized to the air in the room. "Sora, mommy's so sorry…" She heard the doorbell ringing but made no move to answer. She didn't have the strength. She could not do it anymore, smile and wave at the next person when a piece of her family was missing. She couldn't take it anymore.

Sora was gone. Where was he? Was he hurt? Alone, scared and calling out for her only to have her not respond, unable to because she had no idea of where he could be?

The thought was too much to bear.

"Please send our baby back," she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. "Please…" Images from the news of the woman whom took her child flashed in her mind, the woman in the picture distantly familiar but not enough so to clearly be recalled.

Sora's mother squeezed her eyes shut tight. "Please," she spoke to the vision in her mind hoping that her desperate words would reach from her floor to their ear. "Please send our son back to us…"

xoxoxox

Sora sat as comfortable as he could make himself, eyes watering and blurring his vision but not a tear slid down his cheek.

How long had he been here? How many days had passed since he was thrown in here? When would she let him go?

He did not like it here- hated it even. He wanted to be at home in his room surrounded by his toys or outside beneath the noontime sun playing with his friends. Anywhere in the world but here…

Sora whimpered and forced his teeth to stop chattering by closing his lips on the disgusting strip of fabric cold from air and hard from a mixture of saliva and drool.

He sniffled, tears that he held back poring over. "I don't want to be here!" he yelled behind the gag, words muffled. He lay on his side and cried, body shaking with racking sobs. He did not want this.

_Somebody_, he cried, _anybody… Please…_

xoxoxox

It was a nightmare.

Not just any kind of nightmare. This was an _annoying_ nightmare like the one he had where Demyx chased him with water conjuring cats playing spoons while dancing in a brightly colored one-piece singing some outdated, overrated song.

Annoying.

Axel shook his head and bounced in his seat, teeth sinking into the brightly painted exterior of his pencil. His fingers itched and body twitched, the warmth from the sunlight pouring through the unopened windows doing nothing to calm him.

His thighs bumped the side of his desk leg, his knees hitting the desk from below creating soft knocking echoes that kept oddly well with the teacher's monotonous speaking.

Once again he had been left out and given no word on whether or not Sora was safe or even if a clue had been found. His parents, Sora's parents and officials constantly sent him away so that they could talk in private. And even though he pressed himself against the door, his ear as close to the door as he could get, he did not hear a word.

Axel would swear that they were whispering but he doubted that law enforcement would go that far (but his parents were involved and they knew their son's tendency to 'accidentally' overhear things he should not so Axel was not so sure).

Still, it was as frustrating as it was an insult. When would everyone learn that he wasn't a little kid? When would they come to understand that he was more than that? He wouldn't get in their way! He could help them!

He would do anything to help find Sora; the little brunet was his family too. Sora, a curious three year old sneaking out of his home through the doggy door, and him, a wandering nine year old saddened over the lost of his friend. Their meeting two years ago had been one of the most memorable moments of his life so far. He was not up to losing that. No matter what—

A smirk crossed his features; an expression his friends joked hardly ever spelt anything good for those he involved in his schemes.

He straightened in his seat, removed the pencil indented with teeth marks from his mouth as he mentally amended his friends words. Nothing good would come to those on the _receiving end_ of his plan.

Axel cheered loudly, sprinting from the classroom when the bell rung with cell phone in hand. He pressed his thumb down on a number and waited impatiently for the phone to connect before raising as the phone to his ear and waiting for the person to answer.

'_Hello?'_

"Demyx?" Axel laughed at the pause that followed.

' …_Axel?'_ The blond on the other line asked, his tone making it obvious that he was unsure whether or not he wanted to know what the call he was receiving was about.

"Yeah, it's me." Axel confirmed with a hand combing through his hair. Demyx was such a wuss some times. "Hey, listen up. I need you to meet me at the gummi station after school lets out at the end of the week. We're going to Marluxia's. Got it memorized?"

'_Huh?' _Demyx sounded confused. _'We are? Why?'_

"I'll tell you when we meet up."

Demyx groaned, sounding more than a little put off. _'This isn't one of your crazy schemes again, is it? I am not getting in trouble again because of you—'_

"Geez, Demyx, don't worry about it. You won't get in trouble, I promise." Axel crossed his fingers behind his back as he raced toward another one of the persons soon to be involved in his plan. "Look, I gotta go. See you there!" Axel snapped his phone shut, ending the call and sliding it into his pocket as he called out to his best friend. "Saïx! Hey!"

Saïx turned to the call of his name, blue eyes glittering from the light of the sun and blue hair swaying with the wind. "Hey, Axel." He smiled softly and nodded his head. "What's going on?" He asked, their steps falling together as they made their way from the school building. "Why were you running?"

Axel smiled, crossing his arms behind the back of his head. "We're not staying home this weekend."

The blue haired boy raised and eyebrow. "We aren't?"

"No," Axel shook his head and elaborated, "instead we're going to Marluxia's house."

"Ah, the infamous garden." Saïx shook his head and teased jokingly. "And why, pray tell, are we going there? What have you been scheming now?"

"Aw, c'mon Saïx," Axel attempted to sound dejected but the smile he wore gave him away. "Can't I ever call a meeting without there being some sort of diabolical plot involved?"

"I long for the day…" Saïx stared mock wistfully at the clouds in the sky.

Silence fell over the two until they could hold it in no longer and both laughed loudly.

"Fine, you got me. We aren't going to Marluxia's house just to say hi." Axel confessed, tossing an arm casually over Saïx's shoulder and chuckling slightly when Saïx rolled his eyes and remarked a sarcastic 'Oh, really?'. "Instead, we are going to develop the best plan ever."

"We are…" Saïx stated more than asked, his eyes narrowed a little as he thought over what Axel thought was so grand. Though he was his best friend, Saïx admitted to himself that Axel was sometimes just a little too good at mischief.

But, he thought with a silent chuckle, just as grand as Axel's successes are his flops. Saïx would have been more than happy to point it out to the redhead, but Axel's eyes prevented him. There was a light in the green depths that spoke determination, along with furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes above the dark smirk. It was not uncommon to Saïx. Axel coined his expression long ago (along with a catch phrase that, once annoying, now became a cornerstone in the persona of Axel and more) whenever he wanted something big.

But the last time he had this expression he had lost what he wanted most. They both lost someone dear to them that day, without the guarantee of ever seeing each other again…

Blinking away his thought, Saïx focused on his steps and the warm arm settled along his shoulders. "What are we formulating?"

Axel shook his head. "Just like I told Demyx, you're gonna have to wait. Right now…" Axel slapped Saïx on the back and waved, making his way down the street backwards. "I have something I need to do. I'll call you later on, alright?"

xoxoxox

Larxene wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her sweater, grimacing at the feel of the cotton texture so raw against her split bottom lip, and smiled. Her body ached and her lip bled harder from the stretch of the smile but it paled in comparison to the thrill she felt. Once again, she was victorious. Unbeatable. The winner. The strongest.

"I…I don't believe this." A girl moaned from her position on the ground, staring wide eyed at her best friend curled on their side before looking fearfully to the short blonde haired girl standing in the middle of the alley with a smile on her face. "Y-you?" She groaned, sliding against the wall of the building behind her for support as she forced herself to her feet. "But how?" she asked, posture shaky and uneven. "It was two on one!"

The blonde plucked her backpack from the ground and tossed it over a single shoulder, offering the groaning girl a dismissing toss of the hand followed by a flash of a middle finger. "There's no way in hell I'd ever lose to two prissy bitches like you." She rolled her green eyes and shook her head, walking slowly from the fight scene to the main sidewalk. "Keep that in mind the next time you want to start with me."

The beaten girls screamed profanities at her back but Larxene ignored it, walking casually down the street. She looked down at the watch on her wrist and glared angrily. She cursed, pressing down on the urge to go back and punch one of the girls in the face. Because of them she was late. Again.

"Dammit!" She yelled, running down the side as fast as she could without falling over. During the scuffle one her shoes had come untied but she didn't have the time to bend down and tie them, late enough as it was. She only hoped that her 'guest' was as late as she was going to be or her mother was going to kill her.

"I don't see what the big deal is, anyway!" Larxene screamed to herself, waiting impatiently at the light for the cars to pass before she crossed the street. She tapped her left foot repeatedly against the ground, one hand on her hip as the other busied itself by pressing rapidly on the crosswalk light's button. "It's just—"

"Hello, Larxene." a voice called out from behind, startling her. She turned toward the voice and almost rolled her eyes at the almost clichéd timing of the speaker.

"Marluxia. I was just thinking about you." She walked to the brunet's side and waited at the light with the boy, only more patiently this time around as she did not have to rush.

"Is that so?" He teased with a smirk at the blonde. She lightly punched him in the arm, the few plastic bracelets on her right wrist clinking from the action.

"Stupid." She bent down to tie her shoe, no longer in a rush to make it back to her place now that the reason for her hurry was at her side. She took her time, counting the passing seconds in her mind angrily. Marluxia was different, she reminded herself. He was stuck up, actually obeyed traffic laws. She would simply walk when there was a gap in traffic but he would stand on the corner and wait for the lighted 'go'.

It frustrated her to the point of rage. Was it really that difficult to just cross? No one was coming and even if they were they had breaks and should know how to use them. So, you know, just GO.

Larxene sighed, righting herself and began patting excess dirt off of her school uniform plaid skirt. Whatever. That's just the way rich kids were, she supposed.

"Hey, Marluxia," She nearly sighed in relief when the light changed and they were permitted legally to cross. "Did you get a text from Axel?"

"You mean the one that invited everyone to my house without my permission? Yes, I've received it." Marluxia shook his head sighing dejectedly. "What is he up to this time, I wonder?"

Larxene laughed loudly as they made their way up the stairs to her apartment. Her skin prickled and tingled, goosebumps breaking out and spreading on her body though the air was warm. She felt this way before, like the time Axel suggested they t.p. a teacher's house for failing Demyx or key her principal's car because he wouldn't let her go on a fieldtrip because she fought with is daughter days prior.

She smirked, inserting her key into the door as the familiar thrill ran through her body. Whatever it was the red head was planning; it was going to be good. She could feel it.

xoxoxox

"You'd better call me tomorrow!" Larxene screamed down to him, her blonde hair no longer in a ponytail grazing tips on her shoulder as she leaned over the porch of her apartment.

"I'll do you one better and call as soon as I arrive home. How is that?" he held a hand in front of his face, shading his eyes from the setting sun's light as he tilted his head backward to look up at the younger girl yelling down to him from the third floor.

She frowned, her body lowering and arms extending farther outward as she leaned heavily on the railing. "I'm serious, Marluxia. Call me."

He stared with narrowed blue eyes into her green eyes, a small smirk on his lips. Larxene, for all of her bravado and seeming disinterest in anything that did not involve violence… Here she was worrying over him every time he walked out of her home. Marluxia shook his head, soft brunet hair flying with movement as he began to walk to his pick up point. "Of course. Good bye, Larxene." He gave a short wave before stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking bored to the fifth bus stop several blocks from his current location.

At the corner of the block, Marluxia could still feel Larxene's eyes on his back. The feeling… It was…something. Nice, even.

The corners of his mouth turned up slowly until a soft smile formed on his face. The feeling, the butterflies in his stomach and whirlwind of undeserved (nor desired) nervousness, it was almost worth the extra walking he had to do to get to his limo. And well worth the verbal lashing he would get from his parents once he got home.

He idly withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open and shut. The time flashed brightly against the pale blue generic wallpaper, the dark print of numbers standing out on the screen changing faster than his pace to the ride he could see waiting for him just across the street. He glared, all traces of his smile leaving as the nice feeling he'd had dissipated into nothing. He pocketed the cell phone, snatching open the limousine door before sliding inside and slamming the door shut behind him, the window that had been left cracked rattling.

He sat with a huff in his family's limousine, one arm in his lap while the other was propped rested on against the limo's door. Apartments and homes and crowded streets with people conversing or walking or waiting on transportation became gradual and few in between until they were a memory.

He exhaled deeply, watching with barely parted eyes over the passing scenery. One giant house after another grew from his approach then faded fast into the distance when he passed. Green lawns with intricately trimmed hedges surrounding double doors to three, four, five story block long mansions behind iron bars. So boring.

He rolled his eyes and slid the tinted window closed. He could not wait until the sun set. A peaceful night's sleep would give him the strength to put up with the dullness of his neighborhood and the ability to put up with the inevitable family ranting about his blonde friend.

He closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep as the driver announced back to him over speaker that they would be arriving to the mansion within fifteen minutes.

He decided that he needed all of the sleep he could get.

xoxoxox

Roxas stared up at the bolted door, toes wiggling against the hallway floor as his mind and body waged war over what he should do next.

He had not been able to sleep last night. He could not fall asleep tonight.

There was a boy crying in the next room keeping him awake.

Part of him wanted to cry and beg his mother to let him sleep with her because Sora was keeping him awake. Another part sent him to where he was, knees shaking and legs locked as he questioned what to do.

Should he knock on the door and talk to the boy on the other side like he had the one night before? Or should he run and try to ignore the boy's cries?

His right index and middle finger twitched but his arm remained still at his side.

Sora's in there. He's bad.

Roxas remembered his mother's words clearly as if she were speaking to him. Still, he found himself standing in the cold hallway thinking over his next step.

He had been warned not to go near Sora. He had been told to go to bed, and if he needed to use the toilet then he should walk straight from his bedroom door to the bathroom and back.

So why was he here standing in front of the door feeling conflicted?

He knew that he should follow his mother's orders and always had in the past. Why did he want to do the exact opposite now? Why was there even an inkling of rebellious curiosity inside of him? He was a good boy. He always listened to his mother because good boys listen to their mothers and if he didn't listen then he was bad and bad boys would be punished. He never wanted to be punished, never wanted to hurt his mother by doing the wrong things. He did everything she asked of him.

She told him not to talk to strangers, so he didn't answer questions asked of him for the first half of school until he got to know the teachers and principal and councilor better. She said never to give out personal information so he never wrote his last name on assignments or brought home a fieldtrip permission slip form that asked for his full name. Don't travel with strangers unless on public transportation, so on the off day when a classmate smiled at him and said their parent could give him a ride home, Roxas shook his head and ran to the other end of the parking lot to wait for his ride. Even in the car with his ride, a dark skinned male with white hair and orange eyes whom happened to be a friend of his mother, Roxas never said a word. He never spoke to strangers. Never answered when the man, Ansem was his name, asked him how his day was or how his mother was doing. He did nothing but wait silently until they arrived to his home where he would smile up and his mommy and swear he was a good boy.

So, again, why was he here about to disobey her?

He did not know Sora even though he had been hearing the boy's name a lot and he was willing to bet that Sora did not know him either. They were nothing special to each other, only names and voices and bodies.

But here he is, standing at the door he was not supposed to go near, about to knock on it.

What made him do this? Was it curiosity? Or was it—?

Roxas gasped, his eyes widening as he fought the urge to step back and run.

What it…Sora? Was it Sora was making him think this way? Was Sora making him think about disobeying his mommy- the one and only person in the whole world he cared about?

He had only talked to Sora through the door, and only the one time! Was that enough time to make him do bad things?

He watched the door with wide eyes, afraid to do move, afraid to run, afraid to breathe. He told himself to run but his body would not leave. He screamed in his head to ignore the boy in the room, to bury his head beneath his pillow and try to sleep but knew from the previous night that the sobs he heard through the walls would prevent sleep from coming.

He was at a standstill, both literally and figuratively.

Roxas cursed the fact that Sora was in the room next to his. He cursed Sora's sobs and his tears. He cursed Sora's apparent stupidity, wishing that the brown haired boy would realize that he was bad at being a bad boy. Bad boys did not cry. Did Sora not know that? He wasn't supposed to cry- he was supposed to scream and curse then take a nap like all of the other bad men his mother had over had done.

"Shut up…" Roxas whispered to the boy on the other side of the door. He doubted he was heard. The sobs continued, their sounds so hollow and lonely and familiar.

It confused and infuriated Roxas- every stuttered inhale and tearful exhale being a constant reminder of himself.

It made no sense. They were not alike- not at all! He was good and Sora was bad! His mother was proud of him, smiled at him and praised him! She only frowned and glared whenever she spoke Sora's name!

How could they share the same sounding tears? It was stupid and unreal and…and painful…

Roxas closed his eyes and knocked on the wood, pounding his tiny fist against the door as quietly as he could while still making his presence known. He bit his bottom lip and grabbed the cold doorknob, body trembling and mind racing. Tears were collecting in the corners of his eyes because of the tears falling from Sora's.

He told himself that he did not want to do this. He did not want to defy his mommy because good boys don't do that but he had to. He would not be able to sleep if he did not knock.

He could not stop crying if he did not speak.

"Sora," he called, fist stalled in the air and back hunched waiting for some sort of movement. Sora quickly bumped his head against the door, letting Roxas continue in a desperate whisper. "You gotta stop crying." There were sounds against the door, as if Sora were shaking his head in no, so Roxas continued. "You have to. If you don't…" _Then I won't stop_ Roxas thought but refused to say aloud. Instead he told Sora, "If you don't stop crying then… then I won't talk to you anymore."

A single tear slid down his cheek when he blinked, falling from his chin to the floorboards with a silent plip that reverberated throughout Roxas's skull. He stared wide eyed at the droplet, watching silently as two more fell from his eyes to the floor.

Why is this happening to him? Roxas wiped an arm across his eyes, clearing his vision and the tears away. This had to stop.

"I'll talk to you more, every night whenever I can," Roxas called through the door, "I will, I promise! But first you have to stop crying…"

xoxoxox

Sora inhaled sharply through his nose, his eyes opening wide behind the damp blindfold.

Was it really Roxas on the other side of the door again? And was he really… really promising to keep talking to him at night?

It had happened once before but that felt like so long ago. Sora had wished for it, but accepted that it would not happen again.

And now Roxas was offering to do it? To keep him company?

"I'll talk to you," Roxas's voice was soft and his words low but in Sora's ears Roxas's words were loud and clear. "I'll be here right outside the door. So…please don't cry anymore."

Sora nodded his head he tried to stop crying but could not. Tears continued to collect in his eyes and fall down his face warm with relief.

He was in the darkness, but he wasn't scared. He was in the room by himself but he was not alone.

Sora almost laughed despite his situation.

He wasn't alone anymore. He wasn't alone!

It was like a dream...

xoxoxox

Demyx prayed he would not wake up.

He buried himself deeper beneath his light colored blankets and clenched his eyes closed tight; repeating over and over in his mind that he needed to sleep despite it being a hour after school was done for the week.

He needed to sleep. That way he would not get into trouble or have to be involved in anything Axel was planning. Nothing good was going to happen if he went along with it.

He groaned aloud, pulling the covers closer to his ears pretending that he did not hear the front door open or Axel's boisterous greeting from downstairs.

He loved Axel as much as he loved the rest of his friends, he really did, but sometimes he wanted to hit the boy upside his red head with a bat or something. Not to injure the slightly taller boy- he would never do that to anyone!- but just to drive home the fact that Axel never listened. His parents were super strict, far more uptight than Axel's own (whom he secretly suspected feared their son). Everything Axel involved him in got him further and further into trouble with his folks.

And as he constantly had to remind Axel, he really did not want to be grounded again…

Demyx whined loudly as his bedroom door was kicked open, Axel's loud footsteps echoing as he ran toward the curled up blond.

"Come on, Demyx!" Axel laughed as he pulled on Demyx's covers. "It's time to go!"

"No!" Demyx pulled back with all his might, frowning when Axel only laughed harder and yanked them away. He sat up on his bed and threw his pillow at the green eyed boy, hitting him straight in the face. "I don't want to go! Not unless you tell me what we're doing." He bit his lip, determined to stay mad even though he wanted to laugh at Axel's disbelieving face staring down at the pillow now in his hands.

Axel tossed the pillow to the floor on top of the covers from Demyx's bed. "Trust me. We aren't doing anything other than going to Marluxia's and hanging out with him and Larxene." Axel said, shouldering his overnight back pack and discreetly jutting a thumb in the direction of the blond boy's parents standing in the bedroom door.

Demyx narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips but slid from the bed and stomped on his shoes and shouldered the back pack he had already filled with overnight necessities.

"Fine, I'll go." He agreed, watching with trepidation as Axel grinned manically and laughed.

"…but I won't like it."

xoxoxox

"I knew it!" Demyx cried with a pointed finger in the direction of the redheaded boy standing in the middle of their circle of friends. "_I knew it_!"

"Knew what?" Axel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I knew I wouldn't like what you were planning!" Demyx stood, jarring the only female member of their circle of friends much to her displeasure.

Axel frowned, resting his hands on his hips as he turned to fully face the panicking blond. "You _don't_ like my idea?" He narrowed his eyes.

"No! I mean- Not like that!" He quickly amended, waving his arms in front of him wildly. "I think that it's a great plan and all—"

"Then why are you complaining?" Axel sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as though just talking to Demyx was as exhausting as running a mile.

Demyx glared, taking a step closer to Axel. "I'm _'complaining'_ because what you're suggesting we do is practically impossible!" He waved a hand from his chest to Marluxia, Larxene, and Saïx sitting on the grass watching them. "We can't find Sora on our own!"

"Really?" Axel glared when Demyx nodded. "And why not?"

"We're just kids!" Demyx opened his arms to his side and stomped a foot against the ground, stating the obvious with an implied 'duh'. But Axel didn't seem to get it; instead he brightened up and gently pushed Demyx on his butt to address the entire circle.

"Exactly!" He turned around and threw his hands into the air. "We _are_ just kids. But!" Axel glanced at his friends from over his shoulder and smiled, inciting different reactions from each person. Larxene smiled, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. Demyx broke out in goosebumps but from fear instead of excitement. Marluxia looked like he was considering Axel's proposal but needed more persuasion. Saïx looked bored, as if he had already known what Axel's plan was from the very beginning.

"What if we had the chance to change all of that?"

Demyx looked puzzled and was grateful when it was Marluxia speaking up instead of him having to.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Marluxia narrowed his eyes, leaning in forward to hear Axel.

"Think about it." Axel turned completely around and pointed at Marluxia. "You're sick of always getting told what to do- all of us are, right?" They all nodded, prompting Axel to continue. "Well, this could change all of that!

"If our parents found out that we were ones who found Sora, especially before the police did, then we wouldn't have to put up with all of that. They'd realize that we're more mature than they think and let us do what we want!"

Marluxia frowned, glaring down. "That would finally get my brother to shut up…" He mused with narrowed eyes as Larxene in the background cheered over and over 'Yes! Yes! Yes!'.

Demyx lowered his head and groaned, though thoughts of his parents loosening their protective grip and letting him do things they disapproved of made Axel's proposal seem better and better with each passing second.

Saïx rolled his eyes. Of course no one was going to think about the big picture, not when Axel made the possible reward look so glamorous. "I don't think it's going to be that simple…" He objected but from the sounds of agreement it went just as he had predicted: ignored by the others.

Axel and Larxene smiled the widest, nearly all teeth showing as they laughed and talked out different methods of appropriate action, Marluxia becoming interested and Demyx flinching when they heard Larxene say something about a taser.

Saix sighed but decided to pay attention to what was said and make suggestions. He was going to be dragged into this one way or another so he might as well help work out a plan that was not too stupid.


End file.
